The Whistling Tea Kettle Lunch Date

Eileen and I actually met back in 2003 (or 2004? I can’t remember for sure) in one of our classes at college. At the time, she was living off campus in an apartment and thinking about moving on campus. I, on the other hand, was still living at home and commuting to school, and was also thinking about moving on campus. By the next semester, we moved on campus together and became roomies.

The two of us seriously had a blasty in college!

We always said how lucky we were to be in that one class. Otherwise, who knows where we’d be now, or if we’d have ever met! I say, it was fate.

And even though college is long gone, and we no longer live 10 minutes away from each other, we still try our best to get together whenever possible.

Because there’s really never a dull moment!

I love my Leeny!

So this afternoon, Eileen made the trip up and we headed out for lunch at a place I’ve been dying to visit: The Whistling Tea Kettle.

It was quite busy when we walked in, and actually ended up having to wait almost 30 minutes for a table. I had no idea they were so popular!

The Whistling Tea Kettle has an enormous assortment of loose-leaf teas, which you can also purchase in the store.

We spent a good amount of time “sniffing” our way through the choices.

Eventually, we made it to a table and had luckily, had already perused the menu, so we knew exactly what were getting.

We both ordered the “Make Your Own Afternoon Tea,” which includes a choice of sandwich/quiche/crepe, soup/salad, and dessert. PLUS, unlimited iced tea of the day!

The iced tea of the day was the Springtime Melody, which is green tea with strawberry and orange. It was very light and refreshing.

Within less than 20 minutes, our food was ready…and is this display not the coolest, or what?!?

For my combo, I got the Kettle house salad with balsamic vinaigrette on the side. Simple, but very tasty.

For my main course, I ordered the Turkey and Avocado Panini, which was honey smoked turkey, avocado, sun-dried tomato pesto, tomatoes, and provolone on a grilled focaccia loaf.

This sandwich was out of control. One of the best sandwich combos I’ve had in a long time!

I easily could have devoured the whole thing, but I decided to save half to have for dinner tonight, since I really needed to save room for my dessert course…

A mixed berry scone with fresh homemade cream and preserves.

Now normally, I wouldn’t choose to get a scone for dessert (I’m kind of a scone snob…) but there was something about the fresh homemade cream and preserves that caught my attention.

Let me just tell you, I’m so glad that I got this scone! It was absolutely incredible. And the homemade cream? Oh good lord. The best I’ve ever had, no doubt about it.

(please ignore the ugly, chipping manicure…)

This scone was by no means small, but I ate every last bite.

PLUS a bite of Eileen’s flourless chocolate cake…

YUMMM!!!

The Whistling Tea Kettle actually has a entire gluten-free menu, which is one of the reasons we decided to come here (yes, that chocolate cake is gluten-free!). Eileen was easily able to order off the menu and find something to suit her. Everything was just perfect!

There is no doubt that I will be back to The Whistling Tea Kettle. If you live anywhere near the Ballston Spa area, I would HIGHLY recommend it!!

Now I think I’m going to go eat that other half of my panini, and then Jay and I are headed out to meet up with a few of our friends tonight.

Comments

Hey Court! I’ve actually been meaning to go to the Whistling Tea Kettle for so long and now I definitely have to! Everything looks absolutely delicious. Hope you had a great day with your friend Amy @Vitamin Amy recently posted..Pancakes Sprinkles

You made my day with the words “Gluten free menu”. I’ve wanted to go for awhile but the GF thing is a deterrent. Now I’ll be able to enjoy!Cynthia (It All Changes) recently posted..Instant Mood Lifters

It’s amazing you still keep in touch!!!! Great friends are rare, so hold onto them!!! That sandwich looks AMAZING!! That combo is exactly what I would have ordered!!! (I can say that without even looking at the menu ;))Lauren @ Hungry Dancer recently posted..Coffee Addict

I love The Whistling Tea Kettle!
…My Mom grew up in Ballston Spa and my Grandparents have since moved to Glenville. My Grandpa grew up in Saratoga so I like to consider myself an upstate NY native ;).
I love it when you go to some of the restaurants I know–Wheatfield’s comes to mind! Next you must check out Mrs. London’s if you haven’t (Broadway in Saratoga). My Mom worked there when it was on Phila St. and I’ve been going there since I was a baby…oh the memories!

I love the post, chipped nails and all The mirage of college photos def. brings back so many happy memories. If only we could go back in time for a day…ahhhh. Thanks for all the laughs and smiles over the years. You are and have been a great friend, I’m so lucky to have met you way back in Education101??? LOL I had a great time today, we definitely need to visit Whistling Tea Kettle again. That chocolate cake was to die for!!!!

What a cute restaurant! The way they served your lunch is how high tea is traditionally served in England — one row for sandwiches, another for scones, a third for sweets. Everything looks delicious.Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) recently posted..A Great Veggie Burger At Old Georgetown Grille

I’ve been there before! I was upstate for a wedding and when I saw the same of the place I knew I had to go in because I am a tea lover. I had their marzipan tea and it was SO good! I wish they would open one closer to me!Tina recently posted..Angry Shopper

I love this post! It’s so interesting to read about your version of Afternoon Tea I live in England and, as you know, we have Afternoon Teas coming out of our ears! Over here you get a 3-tierd cake stand, with the plates getting smaller towards the top. The first layer traditionally carries cucumber finger sandwiches with white bread – usually you can pick your own sarnie tho Second up comes the fruit scone and clotted cream/preserve combo. Our scones are very small but yummy! The top tier has mini pastries…so yeah you get 2 desserts I guess! Afternoon tea is so fun! My boyfriend and I often make our own version on a Sunday. A good investment is a 3 tier cake stand. Great for when your BFF visits! Emma recently posted..Raw Vegan Turtles

Looks like such a fun lunch date! Your scone looks really good…although I will admit that I don’t like scones…or maybe it just that I have never had a really good one. Are they supposed to be dry?? Because every scone I have ever had is so dry that I am not sure if they are supposed to be like that or if I have just have rotten luck. Help!

Aww, you’re making me miss my college roomie so badly! We were randomly paired together the first semester we transferred over, and dang did I ever get lucky! She’s one of my best friends…she’s coming down to visit (from Illinois!) next week and I’m SO excited!Faith @ lovelyascharged recently posted..Didn’t I Just go to Bed